“There's always a bit of suspense about the particular way in which a given school year will get off to a bad start.”

“Compromise, eh?..You start off thinking you can kill all the baddies and save the world. Then you get a little bit older..and you realize that some of the world's badness is inside you..And then you get a little bit older.., and a bit more comfortable, and you start wondering whether that badness you've seen in yourself is really all that bad at all. You start talking about ten percent.”

“It gets off to a pretty slow start, the main character does a total 180 about half way through, and the rest of the book is about his kid. It ends on a bit of a downer.”

“Isn't it sad, growing up? You start off like my Charlie. You start off thinking you can kill all the baddies and save the world. Then you get a little bit older, maybe Little Bee's age, and you realize that some of the world's badness is inside you, that maybe you're a part of it. And then you get a bit older still, and a bit more comfortable, and you start wondering whether that badness you've seen in yourself is really all that bad at all. You start talking about ten per cent."Maybe that's just developing as a person, Sarah."I sighed and looked out at Little Bee Well," I said, "maybe this is a developing world.”

“I am all for curses and superstition, but there's a point at which they start getting in the way. That point had arrived.”

“Think about my invitation. It’s not a bad way to start off the year—on the arm of the most eligible bachelor inschool . . . See you tomorrow, Goldilocks.” Trent winked and,finally releasing my captive hand, walked away.”